It’s no secret to anyone who knows me or follows my work and exploits on social media (mainly Facebook, but also Twitter and Instagram) that I tend to stay pretty busy between a steady release of books throughout the year as well as a pretty consistent touring schedule. (If you know anyone else who released two full graphic novels, a one-shot comic, a story in a prose anthology — and launched two successful Kickstarter campaigns — all while also being a guest at 28 conventions and/or in-store signing appearances — double-check to make sure you’re not confusing them with me.)

That being said, as I type this update on January 1st, 2018, it looks like the year ahead is going to be my biggest yet in terms of sheer output alone (with eight books and one tabletop game already announced), and that’s to say nothing of the thirteen (and counting) convention and signing appearances I’m already committed to from coast to coast this coming year.

Quite frankly, the $45K+ success of the NIGHTMARE WORLD OMNIBUS, combined with the $26K+ TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 4 Kickstarter in 2017 really cleared a lot of space in my “mental bandwidth,” allowing me to turn my attention not only to releasing both those books in 2018, but also numerous others with friends and collaborators who I’ve wanted to work with on new projects for years.

Those of you who subscribe to my monthly newsletter (you can do so right form this very page!) got a first glimpse of the nine new projects I’m launching in 2018, and then less than two hours later Bleeding Cool picked-up on the story, discussing all the projects here. I’m exceptionally excited to be working with so many of my very talented friends on so many great books (and in one case, a tabletop card game), and I never forget for a moment that the success I enjoy is due in large part to the continued support of so many of you out there reading this right now.

Thanks again for your support, everyone! I’ll keep the “Signings and Appearances” tab updated as I (inevitably) add more conventions and signing appearances to my already busy 2018 schedule… and I look forward to staying in touch with you all via the monthly e-mail newsletter (have you signed-up for it yet?) and via social media.

That being said, onwards to the previews of what 2018 is going to bring!

Your friend in comics,
Dirk Manning

UPCOMING RELEASES THROUGHOUT 2018:
For press or publishing inquiries e-mail:

This is a quick post for the moment, as some *MAJOR* announcements will be dropping in August concerning some new books (and more) I have coming out this fall — and beyond.

In the meantime, though, the “Signings and Appearances” tab has been updated with my current convention schedule, including several new conventions and in-store signing appearances!

As noted on the events themselves, some of them will have additional details added soon — so keep an eye on this space (and those spaces) for some exciting updates!

Finally, I cannot encourage you enough to take a moment to add your e-mail address to the monthly mailing list over on the right-hand side of this page. I send out an e-mail newsletter once a month with all kinds of news (oftentimes including exclusive sneak peeks at upcoming projects) — all killer, no filler!

Thank you all for your support! There’s a lot shaking ’round here, and I look forward to being able to share all the details with you soon!

As I type this I’m in the midst of my “Unrest in the Midwest 2017” tour, so I hope you’ll excuse me being a bit brief with this update.

(Besides, if you get the monthly newsletter — which you can sign-up for using the little form on the right-hand side of this page — or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter you get real-time updates anyway, right? Right!)

That aside, I’m tickled to say my solo debut at Emerald City Comic Con was a smashing success (I honestly had no idea I had so many readers on the West Coast!), my brother-from-another-mother (and father) Dan Dougherty and I successfully defended out “Comic Book Creator Karaoke Championship” at Fantasticon Toledo, and, perhaps most excitingly, it’s just been announced that I’ll be a guest at Planet Comicon this year — another debut show for me!

By the time most of you will be reading this the “Bibliography” section of the website will have been updated too… allowing you completists out there to make sure you have EVERYTHING.

Finally, it’s worth noting that I have a new WRITE OR WRONG: “Live!” panel that I’ll be presenting at several conventions this year. It’s titled “Write or Wrong: Creating Comics (By the Numbers)” and I think it’s not only the best “Write or Wrong: Live” panel I’ve run to date, it’s also a nice taste of what you can all expect in WRITE OR WRONG Volume 2 when that book is released later this year or early next year…

There’s a lot of other stuff happening behind the scenes, of course (including TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 4 now entering active production), and while I can’t quite talk about a lot of it publicly yet, I encourage you to read the last post below for news on my latest and upcoming book releases, and to also subscribe to my aforementioned newsletter for once-a-month updates on all the behind-the-scenes happenings, convention updates, and more!

Cool? Cool!

Thanks, all! I look forward to seeing you on social media or on the road soon!

While I’ve been active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, it’s been a few months since I’ve updated the site (aside from the tour dates).

I assure you I haven’t been resting on my laurels, though. Here’s a snapshot of the end of 2016… a sort of “Year in Review” if you will.

The 2016 Signing Tour!

A few weeks ago I just finished my 2016 Convention and Signing Appearances circuit, which consisted of 31 conventions and appearances in 2016.

Yes… 31. Yes… that’s a lot.

As can be seen in the “Signing and Appearances” tab here on the site, I’ve already got a few signings and appearances lined-up for 2017 starting in February… and the schedule will of course get more and more full in the coming months. As always, I look forward to seeing a lot of you on the road!

New Books!

During the last leg on the signing tour I was promoting not one, not two, and not three… but FOUR new books:

***

TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 3: “Those Who Fight Monsters…”

Recently having been freed from the P.R.A.D.S. Asylum by Charity of The P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Group, Mr. Rhee sets about to carefully decide who he can trust in the New World Order, and in doing unknowingly sets-off a domino effect of events (and alliances) that could tips the balance of the scales forever. This book comprises five 22-page chapters that each focus on a different character and are each illustrated by a different artist or art team, including Marianna Pescosta and Alessandro de Forasari, Seth Damoose and Anthony D. Lee, Austin McKinley and Anthony D.Lee, Leonard O’Grady, and Howie Noel as well as some surprise contributions by Josh Ross and Jim Reddington… all with a gorgeous cover by Jason Pearson.

This latest volume of the series introduces several new characters to the series as well as definitively connects to the mythos of NIGHTMARE WORLD in one giant uber-story… and it’s really good. RHEE-ly good, even. I think I can say without reservation that each and every artist in this book has done the best work of their career to date in these pages, and the scope of how big the story of TALES OF MR. RHEE is going to be is finally laid bare here for the first time.

Yeah… I can’t wait for everyone to read this one!

TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 3 will be available in comic shops nationwide from Devil’s Due Publishing by the end of the month now that most of the Kickstarter backers have received their *Kickstarter Exclusive* hardcover copies of the book.

***

LOVE STORIES (TO DIE FOR) Volume 1

LOVE STORIES (TO DIE FOR)Volume 1 collects the two stories originally published in a double-sized one-shot by Image Comics as well as three new full-length stories and a bonus prose story all in one gorgeous TPB with a cover by Nei Ruffino. The stories in here include tales of star-crossed lovers trapped on a spaceship overrun by aliens (illustrated by Owen Geini), an overzealous guardian angel (illustrated by Howie Noel), vikings versus vampires (illustrated by Richard Bonk and Sean Burres), an aging professional wrestler trapped in the ring with his protege in what is literally the fight of his life (illustrated by Seth Damoose and Anthony D. Lee), and a rural zombie apocalypse (illustrated by Anthony Peruzzo).

The collection then ends with a bonus prose story written by me titled “If You Call, I Will Not Answer” which is quite possibly the most heart-wrenching thing I’ve ever written… and that’s saying a lot considering that this book is already titled LOVE STORIES (TO DIE FOR). Seriously, folks… it physically hurt me to write this one. Brace yourselves…

LOVE STORIES (TO DIE FOR) Volume 1 will be available in comic shops nationwide from Devil’s Due Publishing in January 2017.

***

NIGHTMARE WORLD Volume 4; “The Morning After”

No… your eyes are not deceiving you! At long last, the finale to the NIGHTMARE WORLD quadrology will be seeing print thanks to Devil’s Due Publishing!

This final collection in the series contains a majority of stories that originally appeared in the online incarnation of the series that have since been either remastered (such as the case with the Kaiju classic “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For the Both of Us”) or completely rewritten and redrawn (such as the superhero homage “There’s No Home for You Here” and the apocalyptic thriller “Everyone I Went to High School With is Dead”) as well as several stories that are brand new for this collection (including the somber bar-based swansong “Someone Like You”). Several artists from the three previous NIGHTMARE WORLD volumes returned to illustrate a story for this final collection, and several new faced joined the mix for this finale, including Dan Dougherty, Sally Scott, Howie Noel, Marianna Pescosta, and more.

And, of course, this collection features one last gorgeous wrap-around cover by series artist Kristen Perry (who recently joined the world of social media, starting with an Instagram account at that link).

I don’t think a month — let alone a convention or signing appearance — goes by without someone asking me about NIGHTMARE WORLD Volume 4, so I’m tickled to announce that it’s finally being released by Devil’s Due Publishing this Spring.

***

So in other words… I’ll have a few new books for all of you to pick-up when you see me on the road in 2017, everyone. Huzzah!

The NIGHTMARE WORLD OMNIBUS Broke All Records for Devil’s Due with a $45K+ Kickstarter Campaign!

And then, of course, there’s the NIGHTMARE WORLD OMNIBUS, which I pre-released via Kickstarter on Halloween.

The NIGHTMARE WORLD OMNIBUS will feature all 52 stories from all four volumes of NIGHTMARE WORLD, reshuffled in a “Director’s Cut” order of my own choosing that best reflects how I’d like the series to be read in one sitting.

We set a goal of receiving $13,000 in pledges/pre-sales in 30 days for the book to become a reality… only to hit the goal in 8 hours. We then unlocked the 13th Stretch Goal — which upgraded the book to a leatherbound, gold-gilded deluxe edition — in two weeks, making it that every NIGHTMARE WORLD OMNIBUS purchased through the campaign would now become the *Kickstarter Exclusive* NIGHTMARE WORLD BIBLE variant.

We then ended the campaign with a total of $45,321 in pledges, unlocking a total of 17 Stretch Goals, which now included a bonus full length “behind the scenes” NIGHTMARE WORLD comic and a *Kickstarter Exclusive* slipcase.

Yes… a freaking slipcase for the already super-deluxe gold-gilded leatherbound edition of the book.

Oh… and as I mentioned in the headline, the Kickstarter campaign for the NIGHTMARE WORLD OMNIBUS broke all the previous records for Devil’s Due, too… so there’s that.

Have I mentioned how much I love my readers… and how much people love this series?

While the NIGHTMARE WORLD BIBLE will forever remain a print-to-order *Kickstarter Exclusive* variant, the NIGHTMARE WORLD OMNIBUS will be available through comic shops nationwide this Spring from Devil’s Due Publishing.

What’s next in 2017?

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be returning to the road in February in 2017, and my convention circuit for the year is already going to be including some exciting first-time destinations, including Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle as well as me returning to some of my other favorite shows of the year, including C2E2 in Chicago, Fantasticon in Toledo, and Cherry Capital Comic Con in Traverse City.

I’ll also be using the next few months off the road to be working on new books to be released late 2017 and (hopefully) early 2018, including TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 4, WRITE OR WRONG Volume 2(!), and MARIACHI… for starters.

For the most up-to-date updates on what I’ll be doing and where I’ll be, please consider subscribing to my monthly e-newsletter (using the form at the top right-hand corner of this page). As it says, I only send the e-mail once a month, and I assure you it’s written with love and care by me rather than some automated drones or something.

So… that’s all the news that’s fit to dish until 2017, my friends!

Until then, be well… and thank you for making 2016 the most successful year of my writing career to date. That being said, I’m extremely excited about what’s to come in 2017 — and beyond!

As those of you who follow me on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) and/or get and read my monthly e-mail newsletter (you can subscribe using the form on your right!) are aware, I’ve been taking most of July off the road after finishing that grueling 15 week signing tour that lasted from February until June.

You know… the one during which also launched (and successfully completed) a Kickstarter for TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 3: Those Who Fight Monsters from Devil’s Due Publishing.

(Thanks again to all of you reading this who helped make that campaign a MONSTER success, too! I still can’t believe we raised over $23,000 in pre-sales and pledges on a $6,666 funding goal! You rock!)

I just updated the “Signing and Appearances” tab here on the website to reflect my summer and fall touring schedule… and it features SEVERAL new shows and appearances, including Wizard World: Chicago, Baltimore Comic Con, Bangorfest 2, and a return to Cincinnati Comic Expo along with my return to New York Comic Con,Cinema Wasteland, Grand Rapids Comic Con, and more! Check the link and let’s make plans to kick it, yeah?

Finally, I would be extremely negligent if I didn’t mention that the TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 3: “Those Who Fight Monsters” trade paperback collection is now in PREVIEWS, which means it’s available for pre-order in comic shops all across the country.

Here’s the cool ad for it, if you haven’t seen it yet:

People like me who do creator-owned comics (and don’t have the built-in audience that Marvel and DC superheroes do, for example) live or die based on our pre-orders, so if you wouldn’t mind letting your local comic shop know that you’d like them to pre-order you a copy, me and the whole team would certainly appreciate it! You can even give then the handy-dandy pre-order code JUL16-1529 if you’d like!

OK… everyone… all of that being said, it’s back to the grind for me. As much as I’d like to say these previous few weeks off the road have been filled with fun and sun, in truth it’s been spent getting the files for the RHEEv3 trade paperback ready to send to the printer as well as preparing for the release of a full-blown five-issue LOVE STORIES (TO DIE FOR) trade paperback collection from Devil’s Due… and then the NIGHTMARE WORLD Volume 4/NIGHTMARE WORLD Omnibus Kickstarter I’ll be launching in October.

Yes… you read that last line correctly, people. NIGHTMARE WORLD Volume 4 — and a full-blown NIGHTMARE WORLD Omnibus with all the fixings — will be coming to Kickstarter in October.

Brace yourselves… it’s gonna be huge!

Talk to you soon, my friends! Stay in touch via the mailing list and yoru social media platforms of preference, ya’ hear?